Why some PTCs without seatbelts?

Sadly we can expect to see seatbelts on all PTC equipt coasters. The company sent a letter of recomendation to all users of it's equiptment asking them to install them.

I know several paramount and SF parks have already done so and you can pretty much expect it on all of them at some point.

Chuck, who says it has been standard equiptment on PTC's for several years now. Some parks chose to remove them or in others case Modified the lapbar possition and removed them.

is a buzz bar the orange ones on AE and Viper, or just a 1 row bar.

I don't remember the Eagle having seatbelts (maybe I do, I was young) also, werent the trains supplied by intamin, and the trains for viper made by rcca.

BATWING FAN SFA said:
As far as I can tell Rebel yell & Grizzly don't have lap belts & never did...although from what I hear about Carowinds adding the belts to Hurler I don't think it'll be too much longer before PKD follows suit.

Sadly, this year Kings Dominion has added seatbelts to their woodies. They aren't the usual PTC types either. They are like car seat belts without the shoulder part. It'll be nice and tight.

WDWCP - Spring 2006 - Entertainment

Your talking about the retractable belts right? I like em. they are long enough and easier to fasten than having one end so short you can't possibly buckle it in the seated possition (Thunder Run) Yes there may be tangle issues but it is offset by having to secure every belt on every seat every time.

Chuck, who never minded belts (Only the load times) and thinks they don't restrict riding much at all.

Turbo, a buzz bar is the former, as far as I know, and requires electrical current to change from lock to unlock, i believe (hence the buzz sound).

Sadly buzzbars are becoming a dying breed on North American woodies...I don't know for sure if they have belts & ratcheting bars on most of the over seas woodies though.

Turbo, a buzz bar is like what is on Cornball Express. It's a single bar that goes all the way across and only comes down about halfway to your lap. AE and Viper have individual lapbars.

Monkey killing monkey killing monkey over pieces of the ground, silly monkeys give them thumbs they forge a blade and weapons by the pound to divide it, right in two - Tool

Chuck, couldn't agree more...if you've gotta have seatbelts (and it looks inevitable at ths point), retractables are THE way to go. The safety factor AND the ease of laoding/checking makes them superior IMO.

Although, Frank makes a good point just mentioning Cornball...this summer, I vow to get back to IB....:)

sparky697 said:
Turbo, a buzz bar is like what is on Cornball Express. It's a single bar that goes all the way across and only comes down about halfway to your lap. AE and Viper have individual lapbars.

No, that's a single-position lapbar (that is, it only locks in one position). I've also seen it referred to as a dual-position lapbar, since technically it has two positions (open and closed). "joe." had it completely correct - a buzz bar requires electrical current to open and creates a loud buzzing sound when the current is applied. While it is true that most single-position lapbars tend to be buzz bars, American Eagle also has buzz bars (although they are ratcheting, not single-position).

I don't know why buzz bars disappearing would be something to mourn; they're a pain in the butt.

Turbo said:
I don't remember the Eagle having seatbelts (maybe I do, I was young) also, werent the trains supplied by intamin, and the trains for viper made by rcca.

No. Both American Eagle and Viper have PTC trains. Intamin basically just brokered the sale of American Eagle to Great America. As far as I know, RCCA played no part in the planning, construction, or supply of Viper.

-Nate *** Edited 3/26/2004 7:23:12 AM UTC by coasterdude318***

coasterdude, technically you are correct, but usually when someone says a coaster has buzzbars they mean like CE. At least anyone I've heard mention them. That is why them disappearing is something to mourn.

Frank, who thinks more coasters should have restraints like Jack Rabbit and Conneaut's Blue Streak.

Monkey killing monkey killing monkey over pieces of the ground, silly monkeys give them thumbs they forge a blade and weapons by the pound to divide it, right in two - Tool

I'm gonna disagree with rollergator and Charles Nungester here. I don't care for retractable belts. I'd rather have an adjustable belt, preferrably with a self-aligning buckle.

If you had the misfortune to ride LoCoSuMo with retracting belts, then this makes perfect sense to you. With the retracting belts, every time you hit a high-G moment, the seat cushion compresses, the belt retracts, and then locks tighter. Ouch.

Beastie also shows a case against retractables...those things are constantly jammed. The loading time isn't screwed up by the time required to fasten the seat belt, it is screwed up by the time required to un-jam the seat belts.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

sparky697 said:
coasterdude, technically you are correct, but usually when someone says a coaster has buzzbars they mean like CE. At least anyone I've heard mention them.

I don't know when "buzzbar" started becoming slang for single lapbars, but it really isn't a very accurate term. The buzzing is caused by an electrical solenoid and yes, a good portion of the old single lapbar trains have a buzzing sound (mostly on PTC trains), but that is not always the case. There are individual ratcheting lapbars that buzz too (PKI Racer for instance) and there are single lapbars that don't buzz (most NAD trains for instance).

Is it too difficult to just say single lapbar?

*** Edited 9/14/2004 2:10:43 PM UTC by Jeffrey Seifert***

When did "airtime" become slang term for "low or negative g-forces?"

When did "trim" become slang for "trim brakes?"

When did "Arrow dance" become slang for the process of unlocking the restraints on an Arrow looper with pedals?

When did "staple" become slang for having your restraint lowered more than you'd like?

The Phoenix and Twister both had seatbelts upon opening. Each only lasted maybe a month or so before they were removed. I think it is park preferance weather or not they want seatbelts.

The seatbelts hold you in but they are mainly to protect the park. All seatbelts are fastened when they leave the station. If someone flies out durring the ride and the seatbelt is unlatched when it comes back to the station you know that person took the first step in riding unsafely. *** Edited 3/30/2004 5:51:52 PM UTC by coasterpunk***

I am probably spilling big beans here, but Chuck pretty much covered it. Plus the secret will be out by the end of this week.

PTC issued what I understand was sort of a "we strongly recommend... or else" dictatum to any and all parks that use their trains.

By result, you will see them on all Paramount woodies using PTC trains.

I am sure we'll here more flack from enthusiasts against PKI in the coming week regarding this, but let it be said... it was not solely the park's decision.

Shaggy *** Edited 3/30/2004 6:56:21 PM UTC by Shaggy***

Shaggy

Michael Darling said:
When did "airtime" become slang term for "low or negative g-forces?"...

To be fair, none of the terms you used mean something different in enthusiast speak. "Buzz bar" and "Single-position bar" refer to completely different things. If all single position bars were buzz bars or all buzz bars were single-position bars then the usuage wouldn't be a problem. You can, however, have one without the other.

I believe the seatbelts on Phoenix and Twister are simply tucked under the seat cushion.

-Nate *** Edited 3/30/2004 7:13:22 PM UTC by coasterdude318***

And next week on Who Gives A Flying Shovel O' Camel Plop...

Funny, people seem to care enough to respond...including you.

-Nate

Okay, it's time to pull out the history book.

Jeffrey sez: "I don't know when "buzzbar" started becoming slang for single lapbars, but it really isn't a very accurate term."

He's right, of course, but I think I remember EXACTLY when the term appeared. Now I have to see if I can find it... (user spends about an hour in a fruitless search of the archives) ...I can't find it right now. But I do remember the first time I ever saw the term was in an interview with Denise Dinn-Larrick of Custom Coasters. She explained her company's preference for the standard lap bars, but noted that they typically went with all-mechanical ratchet bars on European rides, citing electrical difficulties overseas. In that article, she referred to the standard lap bars (inaccurately) as 'buzz bars' and it took no time at all for some enthusiasts to pick up on the expression.

I can't remember if it was RC! or ACE News. I only found one interview with her in the issues I dug out, and it didn't even mention lap bars.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

RideMan said:
I'm gonna disagree with rollergator and Charles Nungester here. I don't care for retractable belts. I'd rather have an adjustable belt, preferrably with a self-aligning buckle.

Perhaps I mis-stated what I meant...the thing I like about the retractables is that they are *obviously* latched and therefore SHOULD make for quicker loading/dispatches...also, *theoretically* they'd make the liability carriers happier, reducing the park's insurance
rates...that's obviously hypothetical, LOL...

Witout a doubt my *preferred* restraints in terms of RIDE are those on KW's JackRabbit...:)

You still have Zoidberg.... You ALL have Zoidberg! (V) (;,,;) (V)